Community rallies together after terrorist attack on Finsbury Park mosque

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Monday 19 June 2017

The north London community of Finsbury Park is coming together in support after a terrorist attack on Muslim worshippers who were returning from Ramadan prayers in the early hours of Monday morning saw one person killed, and nine people in hospital after a man drove his van into them.

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The attacker, a 48-year-old man, is alive, largely thanks to the efforts of a group of Muslim leaders who detained him and stopped a mob from attempting to attack him in return. They flagged down a police van who was passing unconnected to the attack and told them what was occurring.

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Imam Mahmoud of Finsbury Park mosque described how he and a group helped to defuse the situation. "They calmed people down [to] extinguish any flames of anger of mob rule that would have taken charge had this group of mature brothers not stepped in."

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She has described how one resident went to the local Poundland to get the police officers manning the cordon a crate of water. Others have left flowers at nearby mosques to show their support for those affected.

Singh also tweeted pictures of a longstanding resident named Alison, who was carrying a sign saying, "Leave our Muslim neighbours alone. This is not a war. It's just a few deranged individuals acting out their demented macho fantasies. They are not with us. We love our mixed community."

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Finsbury Park's MP, Jeremy Corbyn, joined Islington Council Leader Richard Watts early on Monday morning to meet with Muslim leaders and to pay their respects.

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In a statement he said, pointedly, "I appeal for people and the media to remain calm and respectful of those affected. In the meantime, I call on everyone to stand together against those who seek to divide us."

Questions have also been asked about how the attacker was radicalised. The antagonistic columnist Katie Hopkins, who was removed from her job at LBC Radio after comments about the Manchester bombing, and former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson, have both been blamed for inciting racial hatred.

However, it has been pointed out that unlike the recent terror attacks in Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge, the attacker is alive and will face prosection, and so reporting restrictions need to be in place so as to avoid prejudicing any future trial.

If Finsbury Mosque attacker doesn't get coverage you think he deserves compared to London Bridge or Manchester, it's because of the law...